All I know is, it's early Wednesday morning, there's a chill in the air, and I'm dressed in hiking shorts, running shoes and a T-shirt, following a bunch of 20-somethings toward the start of a physical agility test I really have no business participating in.

I'm at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds to test my mettle on a timed obstacle course set up for prospective police recruits interested in joining the Stockton Police Department. My contact for the day is department media rep Officer Joe Silva. He assured me earlier it would be a piece of cake.

"Oh, you can do it," he said with that familiar cop grin - you know, the one where you're not really quite sure what it means. With Silva, though, I've learned to trust him.

"OK, I can do this," I think to myself.

So Wednesday, I'm standing in line with a video camera strapped to my chest. The female and male applicants around me are all sizes and shapes, but all looking pretty fit and, especially, young. Did I mention I'm 59?

The young people are chatting like people do in a line about what they think the tests will be like, what other law enforcement agencies have openings, about their kids.

"My son was awake all night. He's 18 months old. It always happens when I have to get up early," one applicant 31 years my junior said.

For some, the nerves were evident on their faces. After all, successful completion of the agility and written tests starts these young people on the road to becoming sworn police officers - a job like no other.

Personally, knowing what I know about police work and the serious responsibilities that come with it, I have no interest in becoming a peace officer. I'm happy to remain an observer.

Today, though, I'm a participant, and the course - and its dreaded wall - await.

The wall, as it happens, is the first obstacle. Go figure. Perhaps they want to weed out the weak-kneed right at the start. The wall is a flat piece of plywood 51/2 feet tall, and I was told I actually have an advantage at 6 foot 2. It didn't help. After crashing into the wall three or four times with no luck getting that leg up, my instructor, Officer Jared McCall, allowed me to use the side brace. That's just what I needed. I got over that wall - none too gracefully, but, hey, you try it without practice at my age.

I made it through the remainder of the 99-yard obstacle course with ease, I might add, and was able to drag the 150-pound dummy the required 32 feet. My confidence in these feats comes from having recently lost 90 pounds through Kaiser's Medical Weight Management program and regularly working on strength training and cardio in a gym.

Now it was time for the 500-yard run - a little farther than a lap around a standard track - and I was pumped. I figured it would be easy based on my four-year addiction to serious walking. But pretty quick out of the gate, I realized running is not walking. My initial burst of speed sapped my remaining energy and it took everything I had left to finish in 2 minutes 35 seconds - just 5 seconds under the allowable time.

Guess what, I passed - or so they told me. I could fill out an application. Thanks, but I'll leave it up to all those brave young men and women willing to put their lives on the line to protect our community.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.